New JTA president worried about bargaining processin compensation review

WESTERN BUREAU:

La Sonja Harrison, the newly installed president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), believes that any further delay in resolving teachers’ concerns regarding their ongoing compensation review will weaken their participatory power in current negotiations at the bargaining table.Harrison, who recently took over the reins of the teachers’ union from immediate past president, Winston Smith, expressed the concern during her inaugural presidential address at the JTA’s 58th annual conference in Montego Bay on Monday night.

“Though invited to two sessions deemed consultations, some of our questions and requests have been denied, to date. We are unsure if this is a case of delayed tactics, though it was emphatically stated at the outset that this is not a negotiation. That stance alone is instructive,” said Harrison.“Is this the beginning of the elimination of the bargaining process? I want our leaders to allay the fears of our teachers that this is not the case, even with our current bid to roll most of our negotiated allowances into basic salary, all to be taxed. There are some freedoms to which we should never attach a price tag, at least not dollars and cents,” added Harrison.According to her, teachers are now contending with the Government’s perceived secrecy on compensation of public sector workers at a time when educators are already deeply worried about the potential effects of the proposed Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) Bill, which has been denounced by the JTA as oppressive to educators.“Not only are teachers faced with the uncertainties surrounding the JTC Bill, but the situation is further compounded by the shrouded secrecies of the restructuring by the Government of how all public sector workers, including teachers, are to be compensated. Literally a hostage approach was employed, that is, ‘sign and we release information’ … what is worse is that ever since then, like you see in the movies, the hostage holder still calls the shots even with compliance,” said Harrison.In February this year, the JTA signed a contract accepting the Government’s four per cent wage package. The wages and other allowances in the agreement were for the contract period April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

However, the education sector is currently in a state of uncertainty as it relates to having enough teachers for various courses when the new school year begins in September, as many teachers have left the local classrooms to seek more lucrative teaching jobs overseas. The Minister of Education has reported that some 167 teachers have resigned since July.

Harrison is proposing that schools should become self-sustaining institutions, arguing that teachers have had to support their students’ education out of their own pockets.“Currently, the teachers of this nation have significantly subsidised the educational offerings to our students, as we use our personal resources and we solicit funds, transforming us into mendicants extraordinaire. In Jamaica, that means we are official beggars. It is full time we update John Public with what really takes place in our schools.,” said Harrison.“To aid in the dialogue of financing education, we must visit and expand the possibility of schools becoming self-sustained entities. Resources already exist that can become significant streams of income, and I invite the diaspora to explore and make the decision to start and expand such initiatives such as furniture-making and agro-processing,” she added.